


constructing a legend

by hulklinging



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 12:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9122815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hulklinging/pseuds/hulklinging
Summary: Kaz writes his own ghost story, aided by his inner circle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "How did you two become friends?" "I punched him in the face, and he gave me a high five."
> 
> First time writing these kids. I hope I did them justice!

They’re in the local drunk tank, which makes Matthias grumpy but Kaz unbothered, because he knows the police have no idea how long their rap sheets are, know they’ll be released with the rest of the drunks and trouble makers in the morning with nobody the wiser. Being stuck here for the moment is an unfortunate inconvenience, but nothing more.

The lack of his cane is annoying, but even without it he’d made it very clear when they were tossed in here that neither Matthias nor him would be bothered. All it took was one broken nose, easily dolled out and poorly taken by the aggressor who had looked to cause trouble for the young duo. He’s still skulking in the corner, glaring as well as he can over a giant purple nose. Kaz could have flashed his Dregs tattoo and had people back off just as quickly, but the police hadn’t bothered to check his arm and he’d rather they didn’t know they had the most dangerous up and coming gangster in Ketterdam at their hospitality for the night.

He also didn’t want people thinking that Matthias’s lack of a tattoo meant he was an acceptable target. Matthias is larger than most of the men in here anyway, but people got stupid when they were intoxiated. Kaz prefers a decisive statement to set the tone. No one has even tried to talk to them since.

“Stop pacing,” he tells the blonde. “Nina will be fine.”

Their distraction had worked a little too well, hence their stay in here, but that meant the girls should have no trouble accomplishing their part of the plan. And Jesper and Wylan had avoided getting nabbed by the police, so they were still available to fall in as backup if Nina and Inej needed them (unlikely).

“I know that,” Matthias growls, but doesn’t stop pacing. He’s drawing attention to himself, but Kaz doesn’t mind. All of these men should get used to their faces, because after tonight the Dregs will be a household name, and if people remember the towering giant he has at his side, that’s all for the better.

Kaz has died and been reborn on these streets and in these canals, and the time has come for him to take his rightful place at the top of this lower city’s food chain. Tonight will set that all in motion. He allows himself a razor sharp smile.

The man sitting next to him barks a laugh.

“How did the two of you become friends?”

Kaz turns to look at him, taking him in (clothes decently made, free of stains, a smoker’s voice but lacking that permanent slur that career drunks liked to cultivate, probably caught up in the fight with the rest of them but not a frequenter of the drunk tank) with a glance. Now, that was an interesting story, wasn’t it? Kaz could hardly say that he had the pleasure of meeting Matthias Helvar in a jail much like this one, helping a witch pay back a debt and in the process gaining two very strong allies who both owed him some work. He had forged Matthias’s papers himself, separating him entirely from some missing foreign convict. This city had been where Kaz had remade himself, and he offers the same service to those loyal to him, for a price.

“I punched him in the face,” Matthias says. Both Kaz and the man turn to look at him. He’s scowling down at both of them, but he looks more relaxed than he had been, which is all that matters to Kaz. “And he gave me a high five.”

That was hardly accurate. He had tried to punch Kaz, Kaz had made quick work of bringing him down. Matthias had called him a demon. It had been a tense situation, made all the more so by everything left unsaid between him and Nina.

Matthias was making a joke, Kaz realizes, and this is enough to startle a snort from him. The fact that Matthias can joke about their meeting shows just how far they had come, these last few months. There is a warm, pleased feeling in his chest that Kaz doesn’t bother to identify.

“I’m touched you remember it so fondly,” is all he says out loud. 

The man is looking between the two of them like he’s trying to puzzle them out. “Who are you two? You part of one of those gangs, then?”

Matthias’s pose shifts, back straightening, because even though he came into this reluctantly, he can’t help but share in the pride with how far their little gang has come, so quickly.

Kaz gives him a conspirator’s wink. “Brekker and Helvar. Two members of the Dregs, in the flesh.”

The man nods slowly. “You know, I think I’m gonna do my best to remember those names.”

“You do that, sir.” Kaz stands up. His leg is starting to ache, and he decides he’s had enough of this waiting. “Helvar. Let’s go.”  
He produces his picks from the lining of his gloves, makes quick work of the jail cell door while the occupants sober enough to follow watch with wide eyes. Matthias closes the door behind him, but they don’t bother to lock it again. Let those who want to walk out of here do so. If everything’s gone to plan, Nina’s already gotten the guard at the front desk. The fake names they gave the officers will lead to nothing.

Kaz turns to give the drunk tank his weaponized smile. “This is a favour to you all. Just know that Dirtyhands will come to collect, sooner or later.”

With Helvar at his back, he walks out. Inej is waiting at the door, their affects already in hand. He takes his cane from her with a nod, and they walk out of the police station and into a growing legend among the underbelly of this city. Kaz Brekker and his crew can walk through walls. Dirtyhands only gets locked up if he wants to. He’s followed by witches and ghosts, giants and spirits. He’s a demon, sent from hell to collect the souls of those found wanting. Four men from the drunk tank seek him out where he’s set up headquarters, wanting in on the action. Kaz welcomes them all, gives the man they spoke to a nod of recognition as he takes his name and promise of loyalty.

A handshake with Kaz Brekker is a deal with the devil, a binding contract. This is his favourite myth, one he cultivates with each hand he shakes. He lets them wonder at the gloves, at the strange company he keeps as his inner circle. The legend grows.

Kaz Brekker is coming for Ketterdam with brimstone eyes. Soon enough, he will set the whole city ablaze with it.


End file.
